ABSTRACT
The improvement in the unemployment situation in 1933, and in a lesser degree 1934, is freely quoted as proof that tariffs have benefited industry. In September 1931 the published unemployment total stood at 2,880,000. By November, virtually the last month under Free Trade, the total was 2,735,000. The improvement which took place between these two months, following the departure from the Gold Standard, was not maintained under the new high tariffs. Midsummer of 1933 saw the beginning of the improvement in the figures. Protectionists, comparing this with September 1931, claimed that tariffs had reduced unemployment by nearly 800,000. The reductions applied to almost every branch of industry, and it was known that unemployment in other countries was also on the decline. Again, many workers, particularly women, were removed from the unemployment lists through the operation of the Anomalies Act. In the first half of 1933, when the figures showed a great improvement, production increased by only 1 per cent.
